Mallorca's makeover

There are worse places to be stranded on a baking afternoon in July - but all the same, I could have done without four hours in baggage reclaim arguing with tired and emotional airport staff.

Not that I'm blaming any of them. Far from it.

My travelling companion, with whom I was trying to enjoy a romantic long weekend, had picked up someone else's suitcase, and off we had sped to La Residencia Hotel in Deia, on the island's majestic northern coast, arriving just in time for a late lunch and a bottle of Cava.

It was only as we were about to have our first swim that Joanna realised she was in possession of a case belonging to an Arab woman, whom we hoped was not waiting for us at the carousel brandishing a lethal weapon.

She wasn't - but the sun was dipping beneath the horizon in a haze of red and orange by the time we made our second entrance through La Residencia's sliding doors.

We were hot and bothered, but within minutes our frustrations had been assuaged.

This is the hotel that Richard Branson launched in the Eighties, when Mallorca was host to the worst possible kind of fish 'n' chip holiday for Britons wearing hostile expressions and Union Jack T-shirts.

Two years ago, La Residencia was bought by the Orient-Express Group, which has spent almost £3million on renovations.

Regulars feared these might have been detrimental to this idyllic outpost, which is framed by the lofty crags of the Tramuntana mountains on one side and the clear waters of the Mediterranean on the other.

They needn't have worried. La Residencia remains one of the most understated, discreet and beautiful hotels in the world.

This was my first visit to Mallorca, never mind La Residencia. I was aware of the image - the birthplace of package holidays and all that. But I was surprised by the reality.

The village of Deia, where Robert Graves lived for 45 years, is a gem, the mountains are awe-inspiring and the lush countryside exudes an infectious sense of calm.

Such was the gentle atmosphere of contemplation that I kept imagining we were staying in a monastery in deepest Tibet and that the Dalai Lama was about to take our breakfast order.

But this is a monastery where you can do as little or as much as you please, where the food is beyond reproach and where pretension has no place.

As it happened, we did quite a lot. We walked. We bought ceramics from an American who has lived in Deia for more than 20 years.

We had a tennis lesson from the resident Australian coach, who used to work with Lleyton Hewitt.

And Joanna had something called Stone Therapy, which lasted two hours and made her so relaxed that if told her house back home was on fire, she would have said: 'Chill. . .'

From Deia it's crucial to continue along the cliff-top road that eventually winds its way down to Soller, an endearing town with a large square in front of the church, where at dusk children play games while their parents chat at tables in outdoor bars and restaurants.

A new hotel has opened in Soller. It's called Salvia and it has only six rooms. An Irish couple bought the house two years ago and lovingly restored it.

The garden is small but perfectly formed, with a pool and a big fridge from which guests help themselves to drinks.

We were there on a Tuesday, but on Wednesdays, Siobhan Kearney, who comes from County Kerry, presides over an elaborate barbecue which one guest described to me as the finest meal he had ever eaten.

On another outing, we turned left out of La Residencia's gates and headed for Valldemossa. This is where Chopin lived in 1838 with his lover, George Sand - a fact which locals have celebrated ever since.

At night the church is lit up in spectacular fashion; and while the rest of Valldemossa is pretty, it's just a little bit too pretty for me.

From there, we took a tiny road towards Esporles and on to Puigpunyent - not far from where Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones have a house.

I never imagined Mallorca could be so rural, so empty of cars or people. It's also much bigger than I thought.

You can have several different types of holiday on the island, depending on who you have in tow.

Yes, there's throbbing Magaluf in the south-west, but there's also Pollenca in the north, where the English are snapping up houses under the noses of the Germans.

There are the safe, flat sandy beaches of Es Trenc in the south, and the abandoned coves and quaint fishing villages on the east coast near Porto Cristo.

The capital, Palma, is well worth exploring, with its cathedral and labyrinth of alleyways lined with stately homes.

Palma has one of the best-preserved city centres in Europe.

But our main purpose was to explore La Residencia and around it. It is the grande dame of hotels on the island.

Past guests include the Princess of Wales, the King and Queen of Spain, Lord Lloyd-Webber (who bought a house nearby), Kate Moss, Bruce Springsteen and Annie Lennox.

Some of them might have been there with us for all I know, because one of the improvements Orient-Express has made is to build a series of totally secluded suites, each with a private terrace and pool.

Stay in one of these and you need never see another soul.

A further innovation has been the opening of the Tower Suite over two floors in the main building.

From the terrace you get 360-degree views of the village, the mountains and the ocean.

Leaving La Residencia is a troublesome business. Leaving Mallorca is not quite so bad, because there is so much more to see and do on another occasion.

As the island prepares to celebrate its centenary of tourism next year, it can reflect on some less-than-glorious days in the past - but its future is as bright as the midday sun.

Travelfacts ITC Classics offers seven nights B&B at La Residencia in Mallorca, with return economy flights from Gatwick to Palma with BA, from £1,014 pp, based on two sharing.

Vehicle and minibus transfers are available and are paid locally. (01244 355527, www.itcclassics.co.uk).

Hotel Salvia (www.hotelsalvia.com) is in Soller, 30 minutes from Palma airport. Rooms can be booked individually or the entire hotel can be reserved, subject to availability, for house parties.